Part 4 (1/2)
”What am I going to do with you?” I was tempted to tell him, but swallowed some wine instead.
”So what do you know about him?”
”He is bad news, as simple as that. One of my guys defended him on an a.s.sault charge, and he got p.i.s.sed at the way the judge ruled and threatened to beat the dude up. Like I said, bad news. He hasn't threatened you, has he?” His forehead wrinkled with concern, which reminded me of Jamal and his need to protect me.
”No, not really What about Rebecca Donovan? Ever heard of her?”
”Is she related to Clayton Donovan?”
”I don't know.”
”What does she look like?”
”I haven't seen her yet, but I think she's what some people might call 'ninety' ”
Jake laughed. ”'Hincty'? I haven't heard that one in a while, but I guess that's probably what some folks would call the honorable judge's wife. I don't know if that's what I'd call her, but Rebecca is the quintessential judge's wife in the 'here come da judge' tradition. She was, anyway. How is she involved in this?”
”I don't know yet. So they're divorced?”
”No, she's widowed. He died last August.”
”Was he murdered?” The thought that Brent Liston could somehow be tied to the judge's demise crossed my mind.
”Judge Donovan? No. Died in bed, in a hospital. Walking pneumonia.” Jake shuddered slightly, like a man reminded of his own mortality. ”I argued a case before him on a Monday and was at his funeral a week later. Shook everybody up. Everybody.”
”You liked him then.”
Jake shrugged noncommittally 'As much as you can like somebody who was crazy as all h.e.l.l and just this side of shady. The judge pushed the limits. Took chances. Rode the wild side, as they say. Sky diving, Harley the whole bit. But he was always fair to me. A lot of the prosecutors used to say he ruled for the bad guys because he identified with them, but when he threw the book at somebody he threw it hard.”
'And Rebecca was the lady who cleaned up his messes?”
Jake thought for a moment. ”There really wasn't all that much to clean up. If the judge was anything, he was discreet. There was a lot of whispering about his carrying-on, but very little proof. Word was, he was a lady's man in spades, and he liked his women cut from the same cloth as him-a little crazy, a little shady with a touch of wild-ness. There was a young a.s.sistant DA who was carrying on with him for a while. But it didn't last long. He's the kind of man who plays at night, but always goes home to mama in the morning; he would never leave his wife. Rebecca Donovan was definitely the angel to his devil. So why are you so interested in the late Judge Donovan?”
”No reason.”
”This isn't connected to Brent Liston, is it? He was one of those dudes who got the book tossed upside his head.”
”What did he do to make the judge mad?”
”I don't know, but it must have been something bad. The brother had just done time for murdering a family member, and the judge sent him back on an a.s.sault charge for another few years. He just got out of prison a couple of months ago.”
I filed that away for later reference.
”So you're not going to tell me why you're interested in Donovan?”
”I think I might have known him in high school,” I said, connecting the Clayton Donovan that Jake just mentioned with the Clayton that Larry Walton said had been his friend. ”He ran with Larry Walton, part of a trio of guys who were the hottest things around. At least in high school.”
”So the name of Larry Walton comes back again. I'm not surprised Donovan was popular in high school. Some folks are born charismatic, and he was one of them.”
”Have you ever heard of Annette Sampson? How about Aaron Dawson?”
Jake laughed. ”Wow, baby! What are we playing here, twenty questions? Come on, Tarn, I don't know everybody in Newark. Most folks don't come anywhere near my radar. Is Annette Sampson married to Drew Sampson?”
”Yeah, I think she is,” I said, remembering his name in Morgan's guest book.
”Now that that name, Drew Sampson, is familiar. So you're working on a new case?” He refilled my gla.s.s and then his own. 'And this case is paying well,” he added. Jake worries about my finances almost as much as I do. name, Drew Sampson, is familiar. So you're working on a new case?” He refilled my gla.s.s and then his own. 'And this case is paying well,” he added. Jake worries about my finances almost as much as I do.
”The client is deceased.” I avoided his eyes.
”Deceased! I a.s.sume said client paid you before he died.”
”More or less.”
”More or less? Tamara, you've got to do better than that.”
”I know,” I said, like a recalcitrant child.
”Listen, I've recommended you to a guy I know, a very rich guy I might add, who is looking for somebody good to do some work for him. You ever heard of Francis B. Cosey?”
”Isn't he that big-time developer from Short Hills?”
”Yeah. He said you did some work for a friend of his, Sam Henderson, on a divorce case he was handling, and Henderson is still singing your praises. I told him I was certain you'd take the job. Hope you don't mind. Call him as soon as you can, and it's yours.”
”So Cosey's getting a divorce?”
”No, corporate stuff, boring but it pays, and you won't have any losers like Brent Liston drifting into your life. But the case will take some time, and he'll need you a week from next Monday or the deal is no good. Are you going to be finished with this craziness by then?”
”Craziness?”
”If it involves Liston that's what it is. I a.s.sume you'll be ready by then, right?”
Jake is tender-hearted, but he's practical, and the look he gave me told me I would want want to be finished with whatever I was doing in a week and a half. I knew he was right. He knew and I knew I had to start packing away some serious money for college. Soon I would have to let Celia and her wayward son drop back into my past. to be finished with whatever I was doing in a week and a half. I knew he was right. He knew and I knew I had to start packing away some serious money for college. Soon I would have to let Celia and her wayward son drop back into my past.
”Yeah, I'll be finished one way or the other.”
”You've got to be. Since you're obviously not doing whatever you're doing for the money, why is it so important?”
”Remember Celia Jones?”
He looked puzzled for a moment, then his eyes softened the way everyone's eventually did when her name came up. ”From high school, yeah. She was younger than me, about your age, right? I remembered the name because I had an aunt named Celia, and I loved Celia Cruz. I read in the paper that she was killed.”
”Murdered and so was her son, Cecil. He came to see me a couple of days before he died with a retainer to find his mother's killer.”
”So I take it her son is your deceased client. I remember now. The kid was killed last week. He was around the same age as Jamal so it made an impression. Another bad day for our side.” He shook his head, as he often did when remarking on ”bad days” for his beloved city. ”Listen, a cop I know is working on the kid's murder. Red. You might remember him as Griffin, from when Hakim was killed.”
I did recall him and along with that memory came the sorrow that always comes when I remember the murder of Hakim, Jamal's best friend and half brother. Jake still bore a physical scar; Jamal and I carried ours in our hearts. Griffin remembered my brother Johnny and had gone out of his way to be helpful and kind to me and my son on that terrible day. As far as I was concerned, Griffin had a special pew in heaven. Jake wrote down Griffin's telephone number on the back of an envelope and gave it to me.
”He may be able to give you a sense of where the case for the son is going. Tell him I told you to call him, but he probably remembers you anyway. Hey, Tarn, be careful!”
His words of caution made me grin. ”Hey, Jake, I'm always careful!”